Rubber lure ban postponed for a year

Senator Paul Davis’s bill to require rubber lures to be biodegradable was postponed this morning by the legislature’s Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, at the request of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Francis Brautigam, DIFW’s Fisheries Division Director, informed the committee that the department would like some time to work on this important issue, and said they’d be organizing a group of both supporters and opponents of the bill, to explore what can be done.

The IFW Committee agreed to postpone action on the bill until next year, to give DIFW that opportunity.

The committee did allow people to speak, and they heard from both supporters and opponents. Opponents were all bass anglers.

Both sides offered compelling testimony. I was struck by something Randy Larry of the Big Moose Lake Association, who submitted a petition with 130 signatures in favor of the bill, said, “The fish are dying. Something needs to be done.”

It was good to hear that DIFW agrees, and is willing to explore possible actions and report back to the committee next year.

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About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters.
Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014.
In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.
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George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters.
Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014.
In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.